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wrong about God

This was a response to an email a friend sent to me which had only a poster presenting this slogan:

“If I am wrong about God,I’ve wasted my life,
but
if you are wrong about God
you have wasted your eternity.”

This was my reply to my friend:

“ If you are wrong about God,” you haven’t wasted your life. Being a Christian is a legitimate and positive (for the most part) way to live. That Christians desire to do good and participate in making this a better world is proof of their good intentions, and so should be respected.”
(End of response.)

Choosing to not fear what may come after death is not a 50/50 choice as the poster would have us believe.

The magical god of the old testament has left a terrible trail through history. So it’s hard for me to believe in it. But who knows, there may be something or a situation which created our universe by accident, and it’s very doubtful we will ever know what was happening before its creation.

Maybe some type if entity created our universe on purpose and enjoys checking up on what has occurred since the last time it took a look-see. So I’m an agnostic technically because there’s no convincing evidence for or against a creator. But there is evidence that an all powerful god is not necessary to explain our situation in the universe. So I feel like an atheist.

Maybe the universe created itself or just happened as a natural occurrence or by accident. Not knowing for sure is not comforting but learning to live not knowing for sure is an interesting situation.

Reason leads me to think the god of the Bible was probably invented in the same way the other thousand or so gods were created, and it needs to be mentioned that the followers of all those other gods believe as just as sincerely as the followers of the god of the Bible believe that they are believing in the only true god, having the only true scriptures, and the only true faith.

So who’s right? Could it be none of them? Can sincerity of belief create a real all-powerful and all-knowing god? If a person believes with the highest possible sincerity he or she is headed south but is actually headed north, do the thoughts in everyone’s mind automatically change to accommodate this mistake? Do all maps also magically change to accommodate this sincere belief?

If one religion could actually prove its god is the one true god by having their god show up and — instantly and at the same time — create a county-sized governing palace in every country on the earth and be a visible presence in all of the palaces at the same time and making speeches based on “love your neighbor as yourself” and taking away the freedom of all criminals until they have sincerely promised to change their ways, etc. etc.

So, how long would it take for there to be only one religion in the world instead of thousands when each new member gets perfect health and plenty of energy and a sound mind as side effects? What good news! No promises only a wonderful present.

Leaving fantasy land behind, what are the odds of my going anywhere when I die? Is godly magic going to keep me alive so I can be rewarded or punished forever? I no longer believe in real magic, but I know how it feels to believe in real magic, and it’s not a bad feeling knowing you are right and knowing for sure you will exist in bliss forever. This is a very compelling dream from which I have awakened.

I’ve given my trust to science because it deals with evidence, and tries to disprove its own latest findings. Science uses facts and gives really good odds for my future non-existence after death because the “I” in me was created by and is supported by my human animal which has all the goodies: senses, intuition, memory, creativity, etc.

The idea of an eternal human soul is a very clever invention and is used as leverage to control folks and to get some of their money, but the soul does not exist: it’s an idea, a magical idea.

If you can produce convincing evidence there’s a soul dwelling in every human and it will exist forever, write a book and set science straight. You would make a fortune and be famous. People have tried to convince science the soul is real but have come up short when trying to produce convincing evidence. So the preachers say “You will be rewarded for your faith.”

Every group of religious fundamentalists believes their own set of facts because they believe they have the truth and no one else has it.

I have only opinions based on educated guesses. Here’s one. The odds of us identities not making it past the death of our human animals are as close as one can get to a sure thing.